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Ohio’s rural transit gets cash infusion

That’s thanks to $6.8 million in federal grant money awarded to 34 transit systems in Ohio’s rural counties to update how they dispatch buses. Many still use paper and pen while their urban neighbors use GPS technology to track where buses are located, Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman Matt Bruning said.

With money for new technology, transit service providers can track where each vehicle is located and dispatch the closest one, saving customers time and the company money. Others groups that help low-income or elderly residents find rides could schedule those pickups more easily, Bruning said.

ODOT will roll out the improvements, which will total $7.3 million, over the next three years, Bruning said. Transit systems with no scheduling software and no broadband access are on the top of the list.

Marion Area Transit will receive $100,272 to update technology.

Rural transit services are often limited to old, outdated technology because they lack the money to improve them or the Internet access to make them work, Bruning said.

“It’s a lack of resources whether that be money to buy the systems or access to broadband Internet,” Bruning said.